French court convicts 18 people in migrant-smuggling trial

A group of Kurdish migrants from Iran and Iraq who failed in their attempt to reach the UK by boat walk back to the town of Ambleteuse, northern France (Bernat Armangue/AP)

A French court in Lille found 18 defendants guilty on Tuesday in a migrant-smuggling trial linked to dangerous English Channel crossings.

The group was charged after a 2022 police operation across Europe led to several arrests and the seizure of boats, life jackets and cash.